PESHAWAR: Air force planes bombed militant hideouts in North Waziristan on Saturday, killing several suspected militants, including Uzbek nationals.

According to ISPR, the military’s public relations department, air support was called in after fire and resistance from inside Miramshah town and Boya village.

Planes bombed positions and five hideouts were destroyed.

The ISPR said that most of those killed in the strikes were Uzbeks.

Unconfirmed reports said at least 30 people were killed in the bombing.

The claims could not be confirmed from independent sources.

The press release said hideouts, caves and a large cache of arms and ammunition had been destroyed.

According to sources, some places in Dattakhel, Deggan and Momadkhel areas were also pounded.

They said troops had begun demolishing suspected hideouts in Dandy Derpakhel, Derpakhel, Miramshah Bazaar and Chashma village.

Militants had concentration in these areas and they had rented houses from locals.

The sources said houses of Hakeemullah Mehsud, leader of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who was killed in a drone attack last year, had also been destroyed near Miramshah.

Dandy Derpakhel, near Miramshah, was also a hub of Afghan and local Taliban and militant leader Jalaluddin Haqqani’s family was also residing there.

A soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device exploded during a clearance operation in Kaka Ziarat area, near Miramshah.

Security personnel are using sniffer dogs to clear IEDs which are posing a serious threat for infantry men in the area.

An official said the forces had sophisticated equipment to detect and defuse IEDs. Officials said 19 makeshift factories of IEDs had been destroyed.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2014